Potassium is the seventh most abundant element on Earth, but one of the rarest in a vitamin shop. The nutrition board of the National Academy of Sciences recommends 2,000mg of potassium every day and the recommended daily allowance is 3500mg. Potassium is required for all nerve functions (general cognitive abilities, muscle contraction, etc.) as well as metabolizing fat, carbs, and protein and also for staying hydrated. Bottom line: it's one of the most important nutrients for our bodies.

When you mention sources of potassium to most people they will probably bring up bananas, but a banana only contains about 500mg of potassium so it would take roughly seven of them per day to get the daily allowance. One can of regular V8 has 670mg, an handful of peanuts has 400mg, and a filet of salmon has up to 800mg by comparison. So depending on your eating habits you may be getting enough through your food…but many (probably most) people fall short of the 3500mg mark. Realizing this you might consider taking a potassium supplement (as I often have).

Unfortunately, if you look at the potassium supplements available (no matter where you look) you'll find that they only contain 99mg of potassium…a mere 2.8% of the RDA. Now that seems pretty lame to me and I have frequently asked people at vitamin shops and fitness stores why that is, but I never get an answer. So I finally looked it up online and discovered that the body heavily regulates potassium flow and getting too much at once can disrupt some bodily functions and raise blood pressure. Taking potassium supplements can even be dangerous for people in less than excellent health.

So what I thought was just a stupid oversight by the nutritional world turns out to be justified. Taking one pill in the morning and at night can help you close the gap in your potassium intake, but getting the proper amount really depends on proper diet. Yogurt, nuts, potatoes, fish, and (yes) bananas are critical foods for a healthy level of potassium. So now I'm prompted to count up my intake and see how I'm doing on an average day. Am I getting enough? Are you?